/gaia-correct-course

user-facing
Category:
Sprint Management
Lifecycle phase:
4 -- Implementation
Arguments:
[story-key] [change-type]

What it does

/gaia-correct-course manages mid-sprint scope changes. It handles adding stories to the sprint, removing stories, shifting priorities, resolving blockers, and injecting urgent work. All changes are applied to story files (the source of truth) and reconciled to the sprint tracking file.

When to use it

  • A story is blocked and needs to be swapped out of the sprint.
  • An urgent fix needs to be injected into the current sprint.
  • Priorities shifted and the sprint order needs updating.
  • A story under review is stuck past the review grace window and needs an escape hatch.

Prerequisites

  • A sprint must be active. sprint-status.yaml must exist.
  • Stories being injected must exist in epics-and-stories.md. If not, run /gaia-add-stories first.

How to invoke

/gaia-correct-course

The command asks what needs to change and classifies the change type.

What it does step by step

  1. Load sprint context Reads the current sprint state, backlog, and prior retrospectives.
  2. Identify change Asks what needs to change and classifies it: scope change, priority shift, blocker resolution, resource change, or story injection.
  3. Impact analysis Assesses dependency implications and velocity impact.
  4. Propose adjustment Presents the proposed changes with velocity impact for your approval.
  5. Apply changes Updates story files and reconciles the sprint tracking. For new stories that need files, delegates to /gaia-create-story.
  6. Record action items For dropped or deferred stories, records entries in the action-items tracker.
  7. Log and suggest next actions Logs the correction in the sprint plan and suggests relevant follow-up commands.

Inputs

InputSourceDescription
Sprint tracking.gaia/state/sprint-status.yamlCurrent sprint state.
Epics and stories.gaia/artifacts/planning-artifacts/epics-and-stories.mdCandidates for injection.
Retrospectives.gaia/artifacts/implementation-artifacts/retro-*.mdChecked for recurring patterns.

Outputs

OutputLocationDescription
Updated story files.gaia/artifacts/implementation-artifacts/Status, priority, or scope changes.
Updated sprint trackingsprint-status.yamlReconciled with story file changes.
Action items.gaia/artifacts/planning-artifacts/action-items.yamlRecords of dropped/deferred stories.

Example session

> /gaia-correct-course

What needs to change and why?
> E4-S6 is blocked by a third-party API outage. We need to swap it out
  and pull E2-S3 in instead.

Change type: Story injection + scope change
Impact: -5 points (E4-S6) +3 points (E2-S3) = -2 net
Velocity: 21 -> 19 points

Proposed:
  REMOVE E4-S6 (Rate limiting) -- moved to backlog
  INJECT E2-S3 (Email templates) -- from backlog

Approve? yes

Applying changes...
  E4-S6 transitioned to backlog.
  E2-S3 injected into sprint-4.
  Action item recorded for E4-S6 drop.

Course correction logged in sprint-4-plan.md.

Next: run /gaia-dev-story E2-S3 to begin the injected story.

What to run next

Troubleshooting

"Story not found in epics-and-stories.md"

The story you want to inject must exist in the backlog. Run /gaia-add-stories to add it first.